DEP Slaps $1.2M Fine on Fracker for Polluting Delaware Tributaries

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) imposed a $1.2 million civil penalty on an unnamed natural gas company for contaminating tributaries of the Delaware River, a vital waterway supplying drinking water to over 15 million people across four states. The violations, initially reported by CBS Philadelphia, involved unauthorized discharges of fracking wastewater and sediments into streams feeding the river's watershed in northeastern Pennsylvania. DEP inspectors documented exceedances of pollutant limits, including elevated levels of total dissolved solids and heavy metals, during routine compliance checks in Wayne and Pike counties last year. This fine adds to Pennsylvania's aggressive enforcement against the natural gas industry, which has faced scrutiny for water pollution in the Marcellus Shale. In a related case, DEP secured a $3.3 million settlement with Energy Transfer and Sunoco for Clean Streams Law violations tied to pipeline spills and improper waste handling statewide. Meanwhile, Sunoco Pipeline agreed to pay $660,000 for Mariner East project infractions from 2018-2021, including sediment discharges into Valley Creek and wetlands in Chester County's West Whiteland Township, where sinkholes emerged during construction. These incidents highlight persistent risks to surface waters from drilling and pipeline activities. The Delaware River Basin Commission's 2021 basin-wide fracking ban, upheld in federal court last year, closed prior loopholes after a Wayne County landowners' challenge was dismissed as moot. Yet, enforcement persists: Attorney General Dave Sunday recently filed 72 counts under the Solid Waste Management Act against Seneca Resources for fracking wastewater injections and ignored DEP warnings in eight north-central counties, including Lycoming and Cameron. DEP officials emphasized the penalty's role in funding river restoration, with fines directed to affected communities in the Delaware watershed.